Body-stabilizer



C. MUNTER.

BODY STABILIZER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. I8, 1918.

1,342,566. PatentedJune8,1920.

avwe'nfoz Char/es J/(mfer ,UNITED srAras PATENT-OFFICE.

oHAntns MUNTER, OF NEW-YORK,

BODY-STABILIZER.

Specification of Letters Batent. Patented J 8 1920 Application filedOctober 18, 1918. Serial No. 258,686.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, CHARLES MUN'rnn, acitizen of the United States, residing n the city of New York, boroughof Manhattan,- county and State of New York have 1n-' vented a certainnew and useful Body Stabilizer, of which the following is a vspecification.

This invention is a body stabilizer, designed to correct an improperpoise of the body, or to preserve and improve a normal healthy poise.Accordingly it serves the purpose and function of both apreventive andcorrective Moreover, it accomplishes the results specified in a. simple,scientific. and harmlessmanner. 7

Afteryears of exhaustive scientific study and measurement of inanimateskeletoir frames and animate human forms, I have discovered that it isthe displacement of the covering of the body, 2'. 6., the skin,.wh'ichforces the body to change its contour and physical measurements, andthat the 0011- traction and expansion of the skin is dependent on thevolume of air in the lungs.

After making accurate measurements of the bonestructure, I was able toobtain ex act measurements around those parts of the body that grew'certainmuscles, and by duplicating the measurements of the skin overthose parts (which are the back, reaching almost up to the neck andextending downwardly to the lumbar region of the spine, under the armsand over the shoulders, and to the edge of the sockets that hold thearms in place), andby exactly duplicating these sections, 1 have beenable to incase' the bony structure in pliable material which. holds theentire torso in its normally correct. position. From a functional ormechanical standpoint, this result is accomplished by so balancing thebody on the spine as to compel the lungs to breathe with their maximumcapacity. By positioning this material firmly against the spine, andsecurely holding it in place by a support extending around the waist,

and forcing the head in a proper position,

whereby the ribs are held up and out, and freeing the internal organsfrom all external pressure as well as preventing the abdomen from beingforced abnormally outward.

devicefor the purposes specified,

The results specified are not-attributable I a ,to the strength of thefabric employed or to the belt that holds it in place, but, incontradistinction, by the symmetrical reproduction, in the form of thegarment of'the natural covering, that not only holds the spine in aperfect poise, but prevents it from falling downwardly to the normalposition of the shoulders, such falling downward being a prime cause ofhollow lungs and sunken chest." Thus the garment prevents the sagging ofthe body by the assistance it gives to the lungs, and not'by anyinherent physical strength of the material from which the garment ismade. By a peculiar cutting of the material, the back of the body of thewearer becomes shorter and the front becomes longer thereby causing thebody to assume a correct poise and precluding it from sagging ordrooping. p

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred, practical embodimentof the'invention, but the construction shown therein is to be regarded,merely, as a typical embodiment of the invention, and not as exclusiveof other forms in which the'invention may take expression. T

Figure 1 shows the garment in position on the wearer, in substantially athree quarter position of the body v Fig. 2 is a back view of thegarment, whenpositioned on the wearer; and,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the garment, lookingtoward the frontthereof.

, Referring to the drawings, 1 isthebody of the garment, preferably madein one piece, of the general form shown,-having the reentrant portion 2,and tapered downwardly, toward its lower end 3, near which is attachedor otherwise associated, bysewing or otherwise, a belt 4 for securingthe garment to the wearer. In the preferred embodiment of the inventionthe belt is formed in one piece, anintermediate portionof which extendsacross the lower portion of the back member and is non-adjustably andfixedly sewed thereto. The garment is so cut that there is provided atthe upper part thereof, on either side, a strap 5, which extends overthe shoulder and under the arm of the wearer, its end being attached, ordetachably secured, at the side of the body of the garment, as shown at6, in any suitable way, thereby forming the armholes.

As hereinbefore pointed out, the garmen is so cut and' shaped as tosnugly cover substantially the entire back of the wearer,

extending as it does almost up "to the neck and downwardly to the lumbarregion of the spine, under the arms and over the shoulders, tosubstantially the edges of the sockets in which the arms articulate.Itis, ineffect, a replica of thetrue form of the body covering, or skin,on thesurface covered by the garment, when the body is correctly'poised.

The garment can be readilyslipped on the wearer whereupon the belt istightened to produce the desired tautness. Thepressure or pull isappliedto the waist line and in a forward direction. Theeffect ofthis .pull,however, is to cause the shoulders to be thrown backward and outward,thereby assuming, together with the chest and stomach, correctanatomical positions. 7 The spinal column is thereby locked inrrplace,the body being thereby poised on the spinal column, and, while theindividual vertebra can articulate normally and freely, they severallyretain their correct position in the vertebrae. Moreover, the ribs ofthe wearer are forced forward totheir natural posiof the invention, the,broad scope ofwhich is commensurate with theappended claims.

Havingthus fully described .the invention, what, I claim as new,'and'desirefto secure by Letters Patenais v i 1.; A bodystabilizerembodying a flexible, non-adjustable, one-piece Jback memberof substantiallythe same width as the back of the wearer and extendingupwardly from the lumbar region to substantially the neck of "thewearer, saidbackrmember being a substantial replica or contourtof thesubjacent skin of the wearer when the latter occupies 'a correct,anatomical poise, and a pair of no n-yieldable shoulder members, in-

tegral with the back member, extending upwardly from the back memberover the" shoulders and thence downwardly under the arms ofthe wearerwith the ends of the shoulder members permanently secured to the lateraledges of the back member,.in combination with a belt, the intermediateportion of which is non-adjustably and permanently secured to the backmember e j above the waist line of the wearer, the free ends of whichbelt extend downwardly and forwardly around-the body of the wearer andare adapted to be secured together at the front of the body and atsubstantially thewaist line thereof to bind the back "pork tion firmlyto the'figure and bring it into close fitting engagement with allportions 7 of the figure of the wearer which it overlies. 7

2. A body stabilizer embodying a flexible, non-adjustable back member ofsub-, stantiallythe same width asthe back of the wearer and extendingupwardly from V the lumbar region to substantially the neck 7 of thewearer, said back member beingla,

substantial replica or contour of thersubacent skm of the wearer whenthe person occupies a correet,-.anatom1cal poise, and a pair ofnon-yieldablei shoulder members,

united to the upper portion of the back member, extending upwardly over,the

shoulders and thence downwardly under the arms of the 'wearer and beingsecured to the lateral edges of the back member, in, combination with abelt securable to the back member, above the waist line ofthe' wearer,the free ends of said belt extending downwardly and forwardly around thebody of the wearer and beingsecurable together at the front of thebodyat substantially the waist line thereof, whereby the back member of thegarment is vcaused to be brought into close fitting engagement with alloverlies.

In testimony whereof, I hav name to this specification.

CHARLES, MUNTER.

e signed my portions of the figure which it

